Grow Your Business

Podcast: Picking the Right Opportunities and Partners

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[Host] Having the chance to win a new piece of business is exciting, regardless of the size or age of your business. Making sure the opportunity is a good fit is even more important, though, and takes careful planning and evaluation. In part two of this podcast series for small business owners Jodi Bailey Gill, founder and president of marketing consulting firm The Experts Bench, shares her tips for evaluating opportunities for growth.

[Jodi Gill] There comes a point in your business where you will be presented with a growth opportunity. It may be that internally, you've decided that you want to scale your business or it may be that a client has an opportunity that is immensely large and you want to go for that. There are times that you're going to absolutely go for it, and there are times that you're going to have to step back and really assess if that is good for your business. "Do we have the people? Do we have the process? Do we have the relationships? Are we strong in that location? Does it fit our core business? It's a great problem to have. Make sure that it's good for you to take on, and if it has some risks, make sure that you address it. As the business leader, you have to zoom in and zoom out to look at your business, and one of the reasons you have to zoom out is you have to say, "What's going on with the competitive landscape?" Because what's happening in the competitive landscape will determine where you're fitting in the marketplace.

[Host] Once you’ve decided to move ahead with a new opportunity, the next challenge is managing it. Jodi explains how having the right team in place is essential.

[Gill] I remember being told that the number-one reason businesses fail is because of success. If business starts to take off and grow really fast, you could find yourself in a really sensitive cash flow position. If the revenue runs faster than the cash flow can catch up to it you could find yourself with all the top lines, but not the cash to support it and no funds for payroll. This is where the banking relationship really becomes critical. They probably are going to recognize that it will need more financing than you and together you can begin to create a game plan so that you don't have to walk away from a big deal. One of the principles that I believe in is this concept of a rule of five. So it's the number of people that working together can build momentum and synergy and combustion for an opportunity. Many times as a small business owner, you think that you can't have access to those five, but you really can. Business is the most supportive environment that you can find to get access to others' opinions and help and advice. So you need to reach out to other people and talk to them. I’ve got this growth opportunity. Who do you know in that account? Ask them for an introduction or an opportunity to meet someone. They want to see you successful.

[Host] In addition to these contacts at your bank and your vendors, Jodi suggests relying on a board of directors to help you with your tough decisions.

[Gill] A board of directors can cost nothing or you can choose to pay a small stipend for the quarterly meetings that they attend, but these individuals will have a broader eye and they can and should ask the challenging questions, should also be very encouraging, and their role is also to zoom in and zoom out so that you're not limited to your own vision in this evaluation of your marketplace. One of the things that I think is changing in businesses today is it used to be that businesses had this command and control process. The CEO or founder was at the top. They developed a strategy. They were the ones that would look at the marketplace, and make sure momentum is building. But today's businesses are very different. It's really all about people, and it's the ability in knowing that there are people out there who know more than you do.

[Host] In our third and last of our podcast series with Jodi, we will discuss the all-important lessons business owners can learn from failures. In the meantime, for articles, checklists and more podcasts, visit the SunTrust Small Business Resource Center at suntrust.com/smallbusiness.

Having the chance to win a new piece of business is exciting, regardless of the size or age of your business. But how do you make sure the opportunity is a good fit?

In the meantime, for articles, checklists and more podcasts, visit the SunTrust Small Business Resource Center at SunTrust.com/smallbusiness.

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